The Fuse was LIT
by SmashQueen
Summary: /LIT, WiiWare/ Jake and Rachel had been bad. But, to what degree did they sink before the fuse was LIT and the shadows began to move? Rated because of dark atmosphere. Leaving it as is.


This fanfiction was created when I began to wonder about what Rachel said during a phone call to Jake about actually being in Hell. I began to think that there were many ways in interpret what had occurred to Jake and Rachel from the girl's words being true to the both of them being just plain crazy. I took the former and decided that it would be more interesting to type up what they had done prior to their horrific nightmare.

They had been bad. But, to what degree did they sink before the fuse was LIT and the shadows began to move?

Note: This was made on a whim, so I have no idea at this time just how many chapters this will be. Also there are some small **spoilers** to the game's bosses here. Click back if you don't want to ruin those fights. (It's mainly references, but looking at them right will let you know their weaknesses...somewhat.)

Edit: Leaving this fanfic as is. I no longer have any interest in LIT right now, so just take this as an idea and when done reading, run through your mind with what you think would happen next. Guess this means...permanent hiatus?

Disclaimer: I do not own LIT. WayForward does.

* * *

High school.

Freshmen are harassed, Sophomores are broken in, Juniors are changed, and Seniors rule. The jocks and cheerleaders are especially worshiped for whatever reason as the 'commoner' students crowd around them. Parents don't seem to care a lot and the neglectful teachers don't help either. It's every person for him- or herself. Cliques provide a means of relief, though. You can be around others who are like you in some way. Whether they liked grunge music, grunting and sweat, the written word, chemical combinations or sitting in a darkened corner being jaded, there was always someone with some kind of connection to you. In some cases, it is essential to find somebody who is like you or wind up being trampled on by students and faculty members alike. However, some can find it possible to survive outside those little groups given that there is some sort of support for them, or there is some other factor that prevents them from being decimated by the ways of high school life.

All in all, the loner Jake was uninterested in the conformity of the school. In fact, everything to him was twisted from the cafeteria food to the students to the faculty members themselves. The school itself was filthy with cramped classrooms, limited supplies, and cockroaches crawling everywhere. It really didn't help at all that cherry bombs were used so often, that the sprinkler system was disabled to prevent an unexpected shower every ten minutes from the smoke that would set them off. (Somehow, the cherry bombs weren't banned in all the fuss.) Slingshot pellets littered most of the classrooms, particularly the ones with windows or computers, but they were never banned either. The lighting was so poor in some places that flares had to be used to read by or walk around the rooms. On top of that, the teachers were self-centered and only cared about their own agendas in torturing the students.

Of all the faculty, five tended to stand out as the most unbearable beings on the face of the planet. The English teacher absolutely hated any interruptions during her lessons and any disobedience resulted in a smart whack on the hand with her ruler, detention, extra homework, or some other form of punishment. Allowing slingshot pellets in her class was just an excuse to punish the first person who disturbed her, regardless of social status or GPA. The janitor was terribly skinny, whistling a tune wherever he went to keep his mind off the disgusting messes the students made. Occasionally, he would swipe his mop at anyone who made his job harder with spills and such, but if there was too much to do, he would just yell and leave the mess behind. The hall monitor, although not technically a faculty member but a student with power, tattled constantly on those who disobeyed the rules. Whether sneaking around in the darkness or pouncing on unsuspecting students, detention slips were always being given out. Only once did someone escape the crazed tattler by using a flare to set the person's clothing on fire. With no sprinkler system, the hall monitor had to stop, drop, and roll to put the flames out. Even worse was the gym teacher who would throw dodgeballs so forcefully, students were constantly being sent to the nurse who quickly excused the students from her sight. Thankfully, his bad back and sensitive eyes would save a few during physical education, but usually not for long. By far the worst was the principal. It seemed that he was always in control of his surroundings, staring down others with those cold eyes. Rumor had it that a student had thrown a cherry bomb near him was never seen again. Jake detested them all, but there was one thing that made it all bearable.

In Jake's life, the only light was his girlfriend Rachel, always full of perk and yet sensitive to her surroundings. She hated the school almost as much as he did, but she tended to look on the bright side of things. Poorly lit classrooms meant that teachers couldn't see them, and therefore unlikely to punish them, in the dimmest locations. The cafeteria food made great material for science projects and cockroaches could be guinea pigs when needed (there was an endless supply of them anyway). She even saw amusement in the gloomy confines of the school. Being such a rundown school, there were few working locks on the doors.

The one to the fuse box room not being one of them.

Ditching P.E. one day, she decided to hide in there after the janitor had left seeing as the cement wall around the school kept everyone in. Having nothing better to do, and wanting to tick off some of the faculty (who could blame her?), she fiddled with the fuse box. The result was an overload in Room 124, tripping the breaker switch. Apparently, she had adjusted the room's wattage limit, plunging the room into darkness. The room next to it, however, number 125 had the same limit but just barely managed to have the few lights stay on.

After that day, the room was padlocked and given a new, lockable doorknob, the janitor and principal having the only keys to open it. Rachel barely escaped punishment that day partly because her sister Susan gave her an alibi, even though she did not approve of such misconduct.

Maybe that was partly why Jake liked her. Rachel knew how to cheer him up (the chaos after the blackout was enough to keep him off the faculty's radar for a bit), and she was interested in the same things he was. She even let him in on some of her fun at the school, such as how to pass the time in the overnight detention punishment (not that many questioned why this was passed as a plausible punishment). She showed Jake how lights and a little imagination could make a puzzle in minutes. Stay in the light, pretend that there's still a hundred watt limit on the classroom, and try to get from one door to another. Surprisingly, it worked out quite well on the days he was incarcerated in that hole of festering rat feces. (Again, no one questioned the obvious: Why was that school still open?) As long as Rachel was around though, he could always find hope in that decrepit school.

However, hope is not always there is grasp.

And trying to reach it can end up killing you.

Or worse.

* * *

I tried clearing up some of the game's issues while writing this (why Jake couldn't just leave the school immediately, why the wattage limit of the rooms couldn't be fixed by going to the source, etc.). Just so you know. Reviewing is optional, but it is welcome.

See you next time when inspiration strikes...for some fanfic. Later.


End file.
